Chapter Text
They say elves are clever and crafty creatures that seclude themselves in their forest, uninterested in anything outside of their realm and content to watch the centuries pass. I would disagree. You see, elves are more curious than that. Though intelligent we may be praised, there is much we do not know about even ourselves. We strive to achieve new heights in their magic and abilities, and are watchful of others, always observing. While it is true that they remain clever and crafty, not many other creatures live long enough to see the true natures of elves; how they are naturally, unbound by what outsiders think of ‘the fair folk’. I myself am an observer, and this is the results of my findings. To whoever may read this, and dearly hope it is you Princess, this document will show you the truth I was striving for.
(Excerpts from Itachi Uchiha’s journal, 1:1)
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There are many sounds in The Great Forest, unheard by normal ears, but the elves within the Otustsuki Realm could pick up on the rushing water of the brook or the whisper of the wind through the leaves.
The Otsutsuki Realm was home to several branches of elves, and housed a conglomerate of intricate castles of silver stone and shining marble. Built tall and lean, the turrets of the castle barely competed with the tips of the oldest trees, and the stone was decorated with gold leafing and gemstones. Bridges connected the various castles and different levels, streams of water running underneath them before cascading into a waterfall where the main house was built, belonging to the Hyuuga family.
The dainty steps of deer passing by outside the border of the Hyuuga house were what a young elven boy with spiky black hair was listening to. Simply because he could not find anything better to do at the time.
The elk are beginning to make their way to their den, he thought, laying down and closing his eyes, imagining the missteps he was hearing of the young foals of the herd among the collective steady beats of the adult’s steps.
“Is the main house so boring for you, Sasuke-kun?”
The boy shot up in surprise, eyes wrenching open and casting around for the source of the voice he just heard. They fell upon another young elf boy, though he was slightly older, had long brown hair and the trademark white Hyuugan eyes. He smiled down at Sasuke, kneeling down to take a seat next to him.
“Neji-san!” he cried, beginning to grin.
“Your brother should only be a few minutes longer; his lessons with the Princess will end for the day very soon.” Neji informed him, stifling a chuckle when he saw Sasuke’s face turn into a pout.
“Why does Itachi-nii have to come to the main house to teach? There should be lots of elves who can teach in the princess.”
“It can’t be helped now, can it? Itachi-san is a genius when it comes to the abilities of elven eyes.” For the past two years, his older brother had been asked to personally teach the first daughter of the Hyuugan lord Hiashi about eye abilities and help her hone her own skills. Sasuke didn’t really get it – he knew his brother was smart despite bring so young, smarter than most adult elves. But he never heard anything good about the princess; she was born a fragile sickly child, and never ventured outside the castle.
Sasuke at one point had pitied that – he was currently sitting on the grass of one of the lush courtyards of the castle; despite the stone statues, colourful gardens, and sweeping arches that enclosed the space, he was bored out of his mind. He couldn’t imagine living in this place.
His own domain was, although much smaller, quaint and much more homely. The Uchiha were a small family affiliated with the other Otsutsuki families; their status among them was about average, but the attention Itachi was getting for being a genius was working in their favour in improving that.
When he went for his first lesson with the princess, he had brought Sasuke with him; until that point, Sasuke had only been to the castle for the formal parties at the start of the New Year with his parents. Sasuke held his breath every time he passed the threshold – the air of the Hyuuga was that of the highest nobles. Even among other elven realms, they were highly regarded and he could see that in the way they walked through their halls with shoulders set back and chin raised high. They were highly unapproachable and Sasuke could feel himself shrinking if any of them glanced his way; how his brother was holding his own head just as high and not cracking under the pressure, Sasuke wasn’t sure but it certainly warranted for respect.
Now, two years later, Sasuke had realized he was being a ridiculous child. With every visit, as he waited for his brother to finish, Sasuke would venture around the castle with a little free reign and gotten used to the atmosphere. So long as he ducked his head at the right times and kept quiet, he was able to integrate quite well into the daily bustle of the castle.
On one of his excursions, he had accidentally walked into the court the Queen was keeping; her nephew Neji promptly escorted him out after he apologized profusely (though the Queen really didn’t seem to mind, giving him a gentle smile) and Sasuke began approaching him when he visited. From that point, if Neji did not have any other duties, he kept Sasuke company while he waited. Today was one of the days where he had to see to his own training and could not meet up with Sasuke until the very end.
Sasuke resumed his lying down position. “Neji-san, you must really like Itachi-nii.”
Neji bunched up his fists. “Of course! Any young elf looks up to Itachi-san as an outstanding example for our generation. He’s achieved so much in his understanding of our eye powers and magic. I would like to be just like him!”
“Well, such kind words from the Hyuuga’s own resident genius. I feel humbled.”
Sasuke sprang back up as he and Neji turned around to see Itachi walk out from behind an arch. Several years older than Sasuke and Neji, his dark hair was pulled into a tie over one shoulder and his eyes blazed red with Uchiha maturity. He joined them sitting in the grass.
“N-not at all, Itachi-san, I’m hardly a genius.” Neji said, becoming flustered. It seemed to visibly distress him when someone he idolized bestowed such praise to him. Itachi merely chuckled. “You’re very young Neji, but your talents only continue to grow exponentially and easily master anything you try. I admire a genius of your calibre. Though if you’d like to be like me, here’s a start.” Only the flick of his wrist was caught and before Neji knew it, his long hair bound at the end at his back was now over his shoulder, tied in the same fashion as Itachi’s. The motion was so quick that neither of the younger boys were able to catch when it had been done.
Sasuke’s eyes lit up. “Me too!” he exclaimed, ducking his head to show his short hair spiking back, waiting for them. Itachi pulled a spare hair tie from his pocket, and attempted to tie back the strands. The result was an extremely short ponytail, and it left no time for Sasuke to admire it before the hair tie popped off and released the hair again.
Despite Sasuke's crestfallen glance at the hair tie that abandoned him, the boys began laughing and the courtyard was filled with the pealing laughter of elven children.
Up in the terraces that viewed the courtyard, elves continued on their way, paying no mind to the laughing children; all but one little elven girl. A fringe of dark hair sat above her pearly eyes as she peeked over the banister to see what had other children laughing without restraint. Her eyes rested on the boys sitting on the grass laughing over a hair tie. She had no context as to why they were laughing, but could not help but feel envious of the carefree fun they seemed to be enjoying.
“Princess?”
The girl turned to the voice that had called her – an attendant that had been escorting her to her next lesson was waiting for her to continue walking. Without a word, she withdrew from the terrace, throwing one glance back at the courtyard before continuing on her way.
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“You seem to be picking up on the patterns very well, Princess.” Itachi commented, making a few notes in his notebook to record his student’s progress.
The princess was studying the spirit patterns within the body that governed magic; Itachi had been observing her progress over the past two years and had gotten to know the princess quite well. His records of her progress would help with determining just how unique her power is. Hiashi had known since she was born that her abilities would be unique, but the extent was surprising even for Itachi; practicing with the princess had helped in furthering whatever theories Itachi had for eye abilities.
“Um, I-Itachi-san,” the girl hesitantly spoke up. Itachi looked up from his notes. She had been scratching her answers on the parchment with her quill until just now, but held a troubled look on her face for the entire lesson. She was a reserved girl, so Itachi was wondering just when she’d approach him with what was on her mind.
“Yes Princess?”
“Y-Yesterday, who was the boy you and Neji-nii were laughing with?” Her question took Itachi by surprise. “Oh, that was my brother Sasuke. I don’t believe the two of you have met formally.” Had she been watching them after their lesson? “Is there any reason you wanted to know, Princess?”
She shook her head. “It just looked like you were having fun yesterday. I’d never heard you or Neji-nii laugh like that before.”
True, she was kept away from most elven children because of her status. Neji was most likely the closest one in age that she could have any interaction with. Itachi thought for a moment; they still had some time before the lesson was over.
“Say, Princess…”
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In the courtyard, Sasuke was passing time with Neji by playing Cat’s Cradle; it was unusually hot that day and the castle was as still as the air. Shaded under a tree, the two boys continued to hook their fingers on the string and create the complex formations as they passed in between each other. Sasuke had just pulled the form for a two-tailed cat, when he heard his name being whispered.
“Sasuke, Neji. Over here.”
Sasuke looked up and saw his brother emerge behind a pillar, motioning them to come over. Sasuke let the string from his hands go, letting it fall to the floor, and followed Neji to meet up with Itachi. Beside him was a small cloaked figure. Neji instantly tensed up.
“I-Itachi-san, what is the meaning of-” he began, but Itachi cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.
“We’re just going on an outdoor excursion for the remainder of the lesson. I will take responsibility.” Itachi promised, lowering himself to one knee to speak to Sasuke and the cloaked figure.
“Sasuke, allow me introduce to you the Hyuuga Princess, Hinata.” The cloaked figure pulled their hood back to reveal the face of a young girl who looked like the queen. She curtseyed to Sasuke. “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” she said in a hushed voice. Suddenly remembering he was addressing royalty, Sasuke composed himself and gave a bow.
“Come now,” Itachi directed, “we’ll be going to the Spirit Lake into the forest. There is a small crevice I found in the west wall. Let’s go before someone finds us out.”